Sunday, May 29, 2005

You probably know about the importance of attitude. In any home business, or in life in general, a positive attitude can bring you a long way. One of the major drags on our attitudes today is watching the news. Now, I believe it is valuable to pay attention to what is happening in the world around us, the news is just too negative.

"Between 1990 and 1998, when the nation's murder rate declined by 20%, the number of murder stories on the network newcasts increased by 600%" - Kevin Miller - Surviving Information Overload.

It is just not healthy to your mental imaging and attitude. A more effective way of keeping up with the news is picking one or two websites that you visit once a day. That way you can quickly see all the headlines, and choose to read only the headlines that are important to you.

Besides your attitude, this method will save you lots of time. In fact, the weather and the commercials take up 1/2 of the news cast (Miller, Surviving Information Overload).

Friday, May 27, 2005

I had an interesting experience today. Someone who has read my newsletter for a few years, visited my web site and requested that I call her with information about my business. In fact she put 'please call' in her comments section. Having followed up with her request and set up a time to share my business with her, I proceed to take a significant amount of time with her (about 45 minutes) to share all the details of our business and answer numerous questions that she had. Then after that length of time she promptly, and rudely hung up on me.

What possesses people to act that way? Do they think that just because I am talking to them on the phone from far away that they can be rude to me? Or, are these just people who would be rude in the rest of their lives as well and simply not care, or not realize it?

When I spend a significant amount of time with someone like that on the phone, I'm not requiring that they say yes and join my business. Thankfully, most of them do, making it well worth my while. However, what I at least expect is the common courtesy to discuss what about the business interested her and what didn't. People can make their own decision and decide this isn't for them, but they don't need to be rude and disrespectful when doing it.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

I found a great quote in a book I'm reading. The book is "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin. It's a great marketing book.

The quote is:

“Being safe is risky”

What does this mean to you? To me, it means that staying in the same place will often mean you will be left behind. Too often people find something in their lives that is comfrotable, and then they stay right there in their comfort zone - being safe. In the end, this is a risky choice, as the rest of the world will pass them buy. Also, time will still move forward, leaving your goals as only distance memories.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

One of the things I focus on, in all areas of my life, is how the business world can be your ministry. How can it be a place for Christians to impact the lives of others, to address their physical needs, emotional needs, social needs, and of course spiritual needs.

I am currently reading a book called "UnLearning Church" by Michael Slaughter. This book focuses on the changes that we need to make to the way church has been done in the past to impact the next generation. It also effectively teaches of the importance of serving others with our complete lives.

The following quote provided a powerful demonstration of how serving others can be a great form of ministry, and how Christians can use their involvement in the world of business to impact those around them:

"A few years ago, Ross thought the Lord wanted him to start something at the car dealership where he works. As he explains, 'We started a Bible study there, and I kept inviting the guys to come, but the only ones showing up were those who were already Christians, and there weren't many of them! So we changed the format a little and decided to have a men's breakfast in the conference room of the dealership. Now, once a month, we bring in a Christian speaker who shares a personal story or a message. My wife cooks the breakfast, and the salesmen show up.' " P. 199 - UnLearning Church - Michael Slaughter.

Having previously worked in a retail store I found myself thinking of how this kind of ministry would have been so effective. Our churches need to support the business people by helping them provide these kinds of opportunities to reach others. Christian business people need to look for more creative ways like this that we can show others the love of Christ.

The Success Professor

About Me

Danny Gamache is known as the Success Professor. He is a professor who looks for every opportunity to help others become more successful. To do this, Danny publishes an email newsletter (A Christian Networker's Perspective), runs a successful home business, and works as the instructor of business studies at Briercrest College.